


The Great Gift

by alidiabin



Category: Pan Am
Genre: Gen, High School, Literature, Pre-Series, f scott fitzgerald
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-14
Updated: 2013-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-25 11:32:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/638443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alidiabin/pseuds/alidiabin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An English teacher gives Maggie the best gift ever, a copy of the Great Gatsby, perhaps not realising how much it will mean to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Great Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Mar,

The silent halls of Westwood High School represented the calm before the storm as fifth period was about to let out. The only noticeable noise came from the last class on the length Mr. Peters 10th Grade English class, in which the students were reading Shakespeare as it was meant to be read, with an impromptu play. The class were reading Romeo and Juliet, so Maggie Ryan who had appointed herself Juliet was lying across a bed made of two chairs and a football jacket, while Westwood High School’s Romeo fumbled over his lines.

The bell sung out in its shrill tone, and the impromptu play ended halfway Romeo’s fumbled soliloquy. The class streamed out heading off to lunch, not listening to Mr Peters request for them to place the books in a neat pile on the front desk, instead he saw them scattered across the room.

“Maggie, can you stay behind?” Mr. Peters uttered as Maggie placed her book in the place he asked her too.

Mr Peters began to move the various desks and chairs back into the intended places in preparation for Ms Kleins twelfth grade American History class, which commenced after lunch. The last thing Mr Peters needed was the old bat bitching about him in the staff room, again.

“I don’t like this play,” Maggie declared once the last of the students had left the classroom, “Juliet is so silly, she’s only known Romeo three days and she’s marrying him,”

“It was a different time,” Mr Peters reminded the teenager, who was by far the brightest in his class.

“I doubt they were all that stupid back then,” Maggie cried as she looked back up at the teacher, who was wearing a smile over his pale Irish American features.

He was one of the younger members of staff, and she knew that most of the female student body found him attractive. Maggie however was much more interested in Mr Peter’s stories; about that time he lived in New York or the time he flew on an aeroplane, and how he’d been to Broadway. Maggie Ryan wanted nothing more than to pick his brain and listen to tales of his adventures.

“Well that is true,” Mr Peters muttered as he dipped his hand into his pocket.

“So why am I here?” Maggie asked as she looked around the room, “Is this about my essay,”

“Actually it is,” Mr Peters uttered, “I liked how you refrenced some of Scott Fitzgerald’s work. I take it you are a fan?”

“I like Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” Maggie uttered, as she touched her own short hair, not quite as short as Bernice’s but it was good enough.

“I’m glad you are a fan,” Mr Peters said as he opened his leather satchel and pulled out a rectangle wrapped in tissue paper, “According to my register it’s your birthday today,”

“It is,” Maggie whispered, not that anyone else had remembered, except her father who had raised his can of beer to her as she rushed out of the trailer that morning.

“Well Happy Birthday,” Mr Peters declared as he handed her the tissue paper covered object. “The Great Gatsby is one of his more popular books, and arguably one of his best. It is a real change in his writing style, and a good change.”

“Thank you,” Maggie whispered as she held the still wrapped book close to her chest. Mr Peters stared at her for a few seconds, prompting her to open the book, she unwrapped the paper carefully teasing the paper before revealing the book in all its glory. A huge smile cross her face as she stared gleefully at the book, it was like all her Christmases had come at once, it was the best present she had ever gotten.

“My pleasure,” Mr Peters declared, as they both lingered “Now you better run off, don’t you kids eat these days,”

Maggie scurried off, the book held close to her chest even though she did not yet understand how precious the book would be to her. The Great Gatsby became her hiding place; she read it to escape from her dead end job in that dinner, she read it when yet another man trampled on her heart. The Great Gastsby made her realise there was more to life than Tacoma, Washington, and became her insprition in throwing some really great parties in her tiny New York apartment.

Despite everything she lost and gained in long life, that copy of The Great Gastby was the one belonging she kept; it survived through various cross-country moves, ten around-the-world flights and long into old age. Laura Cameron, who would be Maggie’s longest-serving roommate, joked that they should bury Maggie with it beside her.

And Maggie hoped they would. 


End file.
